Liberation
by Zero Xepherix
Summary: 3RD CHAP. UPDATEDREPLACED. It was just a normal day in Peach Creek. What exactly happened? Strange, black creatures emerged from the darkness, Kevin is acting strange, and Edd now has possession of a swordlike key...EEnE,Kingdom Hearts,& others crossover.
1. Just A Normal Day

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything but personal characters which will be featured a bit later on into the story, and some are owned by a fellow author, Rabid Biscuit, used by permission. EEnE is (C) Danny Antonucci. Kingdom Hearts (C) Square-Enix and Disney. Everything else featured in this is, unless stated by me, (C) their respective owners. Enjoy...hopefully.**

-ONE-

Just A Normal Day…

There was something off about the sky this day…almost as if it was darker than usual. Edd only noticed this briefly before returning to the grueling task of aiding his friend's latest cul-de-sac scam opportunity. The sock-hat-wearing boy had to give Eddy some credit for this one – a skate park smack dab in the middle of the road, perfect for attracting the town jocks like Kevin and Rolf, with Nazz tagging along because Kevin was there, and interesting enough for Sarah to drag Jimmy into the ordeal. Johnny? Well, Johnny goes to every little thing that happens here.

He was currently taking quarters as a fifteen minute admission fee. Low, but effective. Had Eddy actually thought this one out? Very out of character for him…although years of failures would have probably had some kind of effect on his intelligence.

"Hey, sockhead! How much cash do we have?!" came Eddy's slightly irritating voice from across the yard. Edd's tired eyes glanced up at his incoming friend, whom could be seen from miles away due to the bright yellow shirt. He smiled.

"We're making quite a profit here Eddy. Almost fifteen dollars!" the hat-wearing boy exclaimed. He could see the dollar signs reflecting in Eddy's pupils, and felt a bead of sweat form upon his forehead. Obviously, that had triggered another idea within his friend's mind. It was at that time that Edd decided to turn away, and glance at the surroundings.

Rolf was apparently doing some foreign skating technique, trying to show off in front of Sarah, who was getting annoyed. Jimmy fell off his skateboard for the five-hundredth time in a row, and Johnny…had attached wheels to Plank and was riding him. His other best friend, Ed, was standing completely still, observing a chicken on the side of the road. Edd chuckled a little, and continued observing.

Of course, that was when he noticed something odd. He blinked a few times, before returning to face Eddy, the dollar signs still glistening within his pupils. "Eddy…where's Kevin?"

The shorter boy snapped out of his trance, and stared into his makeshift skate park. Edd joined in staring, and as the sock-wearing boy had pointed out, the resident jock was nowhere to be seen.

"What the heck? The monkey was just here five seconds ago!" Eddy exclaimed, before stomping off to the skate park. Edd sighed, and followed slowly.

By the time the smarter Ed had reached the short-tempered one, his friend was already asking questions to the others about Kevin's disappearance…rather forcefully, though. "Where is he?! C'mon you, I KNOW you know!" he screamed into Rolf's ears, making the tall, stereotypical foreign boy pluck his ears as if his eardrums popped.

"Why must you scream with the voice of one thousand mating sea-lions, Short-with-few-hairs Ed-boy?!?" came Rolf's reply. Eddy immediately gave a blank stare to this answer.

Sighing once again, Edd moved in front of the shorter Ed. "If I may, Eddy." He began. When Eddy leaned back and crossed his arms in the universal sign of waiting, Edd cleared his throat, and said, "Rolf, pardon Eddy's abrupt interruption of your athletic activities, but can you inform us of the whereabouts of Kevin? He seems to have gone missing."

Rolf put his hand to his chin for a moment, before giving his answer. "The Kevin-boy was brooding much like Great Nana after losing her fake leg during the Goat Run of 1978! Rolf saw him go down to the lane during one of Rolf's...eh...roll-plank tricks."

Eddy uncrossed his arms, and without a word, stormed towards the direction of the lane. There was a period of uneasy silence between the residents of the Peach Creek cul-de-sac, with the exception of Ed who was running a circle around a stationary chicken, laughing.

Nazz brushed a few locks of her hair from her eyes. "Is…Eddy okay, Double-D?"

Edd turned at the mention of his nickname, giving Nazz a quizzical glance. Turning back to the fading view of Eddy as he turned into the lane, he furrowed his brow. "Oh dear…he seems…unusually irritated about this." He cocked his head towards the tall Ed, who was probably going on a mile in total running distance around that chicken now. "Ed, could you watch everything here? I'm going to go check on Eddy."

The Ed known as 'lumpy' froze in mid-run and gave a sheepish grin. "Okey-dokey smokey!" he exclaimed, and resumed his run around the chicken.

Edd turned to the kids. "Um, please make all inquiries to Ed as I take my leave and investigate Eddy's situation. Excuse me." He announced, before breaking into a strange run after Eddy. The Peach Creek kids glanced at Ed, then at each other.

"Double-D-Ed-boy's use of long-sounding words make the brain of Rolf like a mud puddle after the rain of sows."

The wisdom of Rolf is forever doubted.

* * *

It had only been about half a minute before Edd began following Eddy, but he had already somehow eluded his sight. Had he broke into a sprint at one point? It was unusual for Eddy's walking speed to exceed his, even if he was more physically fit.

Edd turned a corner, and finally spotted him – he was storming towards another figure at the end of the lane, oblivious to Eddy's presence as he was apparently talking to something beyond Edd's perception. Kevin.

"HEY! KEVIN!" Eddy exclaimed. The jock jumped slightly, eyed whatever he was talking to very quickly, and turned to face his incoming 'threat' with a look of annoyance.

"What do you want, dork?" he responded menacingly. There was definitely something odd about Kevin – almost as odd as Eddy's behavior. His voice made Edd cringe – but Eddy ignored it, and walked right up to his self-made rival.

"What, my skate park not good enough for ya?!" Eddy screamed. Edd could hear everything from his position, and neither could tell he was there…and without anyone near him, Eddy was acting…different around Kevin.

Kevin scoffed, putting his hands into the pockets of his black cargo shorts. "Oh, please. I go to a skate park every day, twerp…one ten times as good as your excuse for one." He grinned. "Pays less too. Nice try, dork, but I ain't buyin' it…I wouldn't be surprised if there was an injury soon."

Kevin moved passed Eddy, who was glaring at the ground at this point with what looked like pure hatred. As Kevin reached the end of the lane, he spied Edd staring at him. "…Hey sockhead."

The one in question yelped; he'd been spotted.

"…Watch yourself tonight." He began to walk the opposite direction, when a hand grabbed his arm. His head turned to see Eddy grasping it with an irritated look in his eyes.

"You think you're so high-and-mighty, don'tcha you big jerk!? Think you're _so_ much better than we are!"

Kevin growled as he shoved the shorter Ed to the ground. As he fell, Eddy's grip tightened around the jock's shirt, and ripped about an inch off the right sleeve. Edd raised an eyebrow at what was underneath.

It looked like a tattoo of some sort – a wicked-looking heart, black, red, and purple. Several dark designs weaved intricately inside the heart, and the bottom of the heart was separated into three strands, all going in different directions. Before Edd could examine it more closely, Kevin moved that arm out of view. "Watch it, dork!" he yelled.

Eddy grinned slightly. "Aww, poor Kevin loose his widdle sleeve?" he mocked in an almost babyish voice. Edd rose from his hiding spot, and began walking towards the two. Eddy hadn't seen the dark heart.

"High-and-mighty? Ugh, you're stupider than I gave you credit for! Come off it, dorky. Look at yourself before telling me that." He suddenly grinned. "You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later. Later, dorks." With that, he walked off.

Eddy got up, grumbling lightly to himself. "Stupid Kevin." Was all he said. He seemed to regain his normal composure once he had seen Edd emerge from the corner of the fence. "Double-D, what're you doing here?"

Edd gave him an odd look before responding. "…I simply wished to check up on you. You appeared out of sorts." He tilted an eyebrow.

Eddy shrugged as he walked past the sock-hat-wearing boy, grinning. "Nah, nothing's up. Just wanted to let Kevin I on the deal of the century!" Suddenly, he froze. "…Double-D, who's watching the park?"

It took a few moments, but Edd's pupils seemed to shrink. "Oh dear."

* * *

"ED, I'M GONNA BEAT YOU _SENSELESS!!_"

When the Eds had gotten back, somehow, someway, the skate park had collapsed, Jimmy had been injured again, Rolf had a rousing game of 'That's My Horse' with Ed, and Sarah had caused Nazz and Jonny to crash through the walls of what remained of the park after Rolf's song. Any more details would be impossible to explain, as it seemed to have happen in an instant.

The money was gone as well.

Eddy was fuming as he glared upon the ruins of his supposed greatest scam ever, his eyes now resembling that of an angry bull. Edd stared on in amazement, wondering just how in the world all of this could happen.

Ed ran up, the chicken from before tucked under his arm. "Coo-coo-cachoo Eddy!" he exclaimed, followed by one of his idiotic laughs.

The shorter Ed turned. Edd took a worried glance over, and sighed as Eddy attempted to tackle Ed, which didn't end well, since Ed's frame was that of a rock. He looked to the sky again, and noticed the oddity he had found previously. The darker sky…why was that?

It was getting late, and a few stars were becoming visible among the sky. It was then that something caught Edd's eyes. It was a flicker among the sky – a flicker of a star. Then, suddenly, it grew brighter, and in an instant, was gone.

He raised an eyebrow.

_ "…no…hurt…go…way…lease…"_

He turned sharply. _"Wh-what was that?"_ Edd thought, trying to find the source of that strange voice – it was like an echo to him…

…

"Hello? Earth to sockhead!"

Edd snapped back to reality to see a slightly calmer Eddy glaring at him. "Y-yes, Eddy?"

Eddy looked him over. "And you were worried about how I was acting?" He crossed his arms. "Whatever. Look, we need a plan for tomorrow. Something even larger, more successful, more expensive…" he shot a glare over towards Ed. "…and lump-proof."

Sighing, Edd replied, "Eddy, it's getting late. Can't we do this tomorrow?"

Annoyed, Eddy was about to protest, but the second he opened his mouth, he yawned instead of speaking. Edd suppressed a shuckle, and Eddy put his hands into his pockets. "Fine. But first thing tomorrow, we're gonna scam every sucker in this town so badly, they won't know what hit 'em!" With that, he dashed off towards his house, cackling like a madman.

Shaking his head, Edd turned to see Ed, who had, oddly enough, fallen asleep on the concrete, using the chicken as a pillow. The chicken remained unharmed, to Edd's relief. He decided to simply leave him there. After all, what could happen in this place?

He flicked the switch on, illuminating the complete darkness in the suburban house. Several sticky notes were left hanging off of appliances – chores for him, left by his parents.

"Mother? Father? Anyone home?" He already knew the answer, though he tried every night. They were always on business trips – always leaving monthly chores for him to do. Smiling weakly, Edd marched up the stairs towards his room. He reached the doorknob, and opened it. "Hello, sweet silence." He said solemnly, and flipped that switch. His room was perfectly organized, and perfectly labeled. Not a single thing was out of order, and not a speck of dust was seen. It was all he could really do when his friends were not around.

A mirror lay on one of the walls. Edd walked up to it, staring at himself. With a quick movement, he removed the hat that covered his head.

One would think he had ebony hair, with the three spikes coming from the back – but it was a ruse. Blonde bangs hung from his scalp in front of his green eyes, slightly spiky near the back. He grabbed one of locks with his hand, and examined it. He didn't know why he hid his hair color, but he did, and was terrified of anyone finding out…it seemed like one of the most trivial things in the world to him, but he wouldn't let anyone find out.

Sighing, he put the hat back onto his head, and in a few instants, had traversed the floor of his room and sat down lightly on the bed. The strange sky and the vanishing star had entered his mind once again – now with the addition of that voice. It sounded stressed…almost fearful. But where had it come from?

As he lay down and turned off the light, one more thought clouded his brain – Kevin's tattoo and his strange behavior.

_ "Watch yourself tonight."_

_ "Watch it, dork!"_

_ "You'll get what's coming to you sooner or later."_

Edd scanned the sky from the window. It was pitch-black now, with the stars clearly visible among it. "It…was probably just my imagination." Edd concluded, taking everything into account. "Kevin's always making threats, and I must have been sleepier than I though…I was just hearing things." With that, he rolled over, and fell asleep quickly.

Although, even as he fell asleep, he had not addressed Kevin's symbol…

* * *

The night had been silent for several hours. Ed had since woken up groggily by his mother, and dragged back to his house, much to his dismay as the chicken he had used flew away from his grasp. The only sound was from the ever-communicating crickets, and the wind, which was slowly picking up.

Squirrels, who were gathered near the road that led towards the center of the cul-de-sac, scurried as a large shoe of shorts found its way towards them. The foot was attached to a small figure, around 4'1", staring around the houses with a red glow in his pupils. He seemed to have 'hair' that spiked out behind him, a few down, a few up. He was mostly covered in a black cloak, so most of his features other than that were unknown.

The figure eyed one of the houses – the house of a certain 'Double-D' – and a grin formed on his face. "So it begins."

With that, the shadows around him seemed to move; take shape…and they were gone within a few moments.

* * *

Kevin snapped awake to a searing pain on his right forearm. He clutched it as he shot up, eyeing the dark symbol on it. "…So…this…is what he meant?"

* * *

Eddy blinked his eyes open. Did he just hear something? He rubbed his face slightly as he propped himself up, glancing around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary…he shrugged, and was about to go back to sleep, when he realized what he had 'heard.' Nothing.

Eddy turned and listened. There was nothing. No wind, no crickets, no leaves rustling. Almost as if all sound had been completely destroyed. Everything was in complete and utter silence.

In all his years living at the Peach Creek Cul-de-sac, 'nothing' meant 'bad.' Slipping on his clothes, he strode over to his glass door, and slid it open to reveal the darkness before him. Everything seemed in order, with the exception of the lack of noise…

…Then, he noticed, barely, a figure standing near the entrance to the cul-de-sac's center. He couldn't make out a single detail, but there was someone there…

"…what the heck?" he managed to mutter, shortly before something grabbed him from behind. He whirled around, and came face to face with two, eerily glowing yellow eyes. Eddy's eyes widened as that pair was quickly joined by many more, all staring straight at him. There was an awkward period of silence for about five seconds, before Eddy gave a sound that alerted the entire cul-de-sac.

"WAAAAAAAAGGGGH!!!!"

* * *

The figure's eyes jolted to his left. "One of them is up?"

* * *

Kevin glanced in the direction of his rival's house – his silent exit had been turned into something sot-so-silent, apparently. "The dork's awake. Brilliant."

* * *

Thoughts raced through his head, dashing down the stairs as quickly as his physique could take him. Edd knew where that scream came from, and who had made it – Eddy was in danger, and Kevin's words had flashed into his mind.

He hit the ground floor, and sprinted for the door. All concern for his personal safety was moot – it was all towards Eddy right now. Reaching the front door, he reached his hand for the knob, and turned it.

To his surprise, nothing happened.

Edd recoiled with raised eyebrows, and tried again. Nothing. The door wouldn't open. "What in blazes?" he muttered.

_ Tssshhhhhk._

His eyes widened. He turned his head ever so slightly, sweat dripping down his forehead. He had heard that. He knew he did. Someone…or something…was in this house.

"S-stay back, whoever you are!" Edd yelled to the darkness. His hand went for the light switch, and flipped it into the 'on' position…but the lights never turned on. He gulped. Out of the corner of his eyes, be grabbed the nearest thing that could be considered a weapon in his house – a cactus affectionately labeled 'Jim.' "I-I have a cactus!"

There was silence. After about a minute or so, Edd whirled around and tried to open the door once more, to no avail.

_ Tssssssssshhhhhhhkkkkk!_

The noise was closer…almost as if it was right behind him. Edd froze, and held his cactus tight. After a few seconds, he began to turn…

Something grabbed his neck. Edd couldn't tell what it was, but it lifted him a few feet above the ground, and then rammed him into the door. The boy stared ahead, into his attacker – it seemed to be humanoid, but misshapen, and completely black save for two, golden-yellow eyes that stared lifelessly at him.

He didn't know what it did next, as Edd fainted at the sight of it…

* * *

The creature stared as the boy went limp in his grasp. It cocked its head, confused slightly, but let him fall. Perhaps he was dead from shock? Yes, that had to be it, it concluded. With that, it walked towards the door, burning a hole through as he walked, and vanished into the shadows.

* * *

**So, that's chapter one. Yes, it's a bit different. I'll try to keep these characters...um...in-character. Any kind of wrong turn I take with personalities, give me a note about it in reviews. Reviews are always good.**

** - Zero  
**


	2. Shadows Amongst the Ruins

**DISCLAIMER: See first chapter.**

**Take note there some swear words in this chapter.  
**

* * *

TWO

Shadows Amongst the Ruins

Eddward awakened an unspecified amount of time later, and what greeted him was not the sight of his house – rather, it was the sight of a sea of black. He shot up, and immediately began to freak out upon finding he wasn't in the cul-de-sac anymore.

He was one some sort of circular platform in the middle of darkness. The only thing that Edd could see was complete darkness in every direction. The platform's décor resembled a stained glass window, and the image imprinted upon it was what appeared to be…Kevin. Edd raised an eyebrow, as this Kevin seemed to be darker, and something black was working its way up his frame from the bottom. That same symbol Edd had seen on his arm was now imprinted into his forehead…

…however, Edd was too out of it to look at it even further, as he was trying to make sense out of what was going on, rather than the image on the platform. "Wh-where am I? Wh-what was that…that…monstrosity in my house?!" He paused. "MY HOUSE!" he suddenly exclaimed. "My perfectly organized room! Oh dear, it's going to be ruined!"

Suddenly, his mind drifted to Eddy. "…Oh no…Eddy! I never got to him!" At this point, he was shouting random things that had gone wrong. This went on for about a minute before a voice drove him to shut up.

_"So much to do…so little time."_

"Wh-who's there?" came Edd's shaky reply.

The voice spoke again. _"Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut…"_ there was a slight pause. _"Now, step forward."_

Normally, Edd wouldn't exactly follow the advice of a disembodied voice from nowhere, however seeing as he was now stranded on a platform in the middle of literal nowhere, he decided to do what the voice said. Gulping, he inched forward slowly.

It was only when he reached the center of the platform that something happened. There was a low rumbling, and Edd watched in awe as three pedestals rose from the ground. What baffled him was the fact they managed to do this without breaking the ground even the slightest. There was a flash of light, and three items hung in the space above the pedestals – a sword, a shield, and what looked like a staff of some kind. Edd's fear was slowly giving into curiosity, as he eyed the items with one eyebrow raised. _'What on earth is going on here? Where am I, exactly…?'_

_"If you give it form…it will give you strength."_

Form? Strength? _'What is this…?'_

_"…choose well."_

Edd stared into the darkness above him, as if waiting, but the voice never came back. "Choose well…" he repeated…apparently, the voice needed him to choose…

He took a glance at the three items again. His scientist's mind instantly began scanning them and he silently marveled over the details – the shield was intricately designed along its edges, each part woven into each other like a magnificent aurora. On its center was a symbol similar to the on Kevin had on his forearm, however it was of different colors and seemed to have an aura of light, in contrast to the dark heart.

The sword's blade was long, and designs imprinted onto it to look like runes. The hilt was black, and the symbol was the same as the one on the shield.

It was the staff that caught his eye the most, however. Something about it struck a chord in him – it was unlike the rest of the items in the way it was designed. Its rod was golden, and its top, a shining silver ceremonial piece, shone even within the echo of blackness. The same symbol was on said ceremonial piece.

"This staff…it's marvelous! The design, the material…incredible…I've never seen something like this before…" he remarked. It seems in his architectural craze, he forgot he was attacked no less than 5 minutes ago. His curiosity got the best of him, and he reached out to grab the staff.

No sooner than when his hand gripped the rod, did the voice come booming back, making the sockhead jump three feet into the air.

_"The power of the mystic. Ancient magic. A staff of ruin."_ It announced. _"Is this the path you choose?"_

Edd seemed confused. Path? He considered the words the voice had said – mystic, ancient, magic. He glanced back at the other two items – the sword probably would have something to do with violence, which definitely was not his forte. The shield most likely meant defense, something he wasn't very good at either.

_"Is this the path you choose?"_ the voice repeated, as if impatient with the boy.

"Um…y-yes?" Edd replied.

In an instant, the staff vanished in his hands. Edd blinked, and put on a slightly disappointed expression before the voice once again spoke. _"Now…what will you give up in exchange?"_

This was a much easier choice for Edd, as he was never much of a fighter, and hated violence. He gripped the hilt of the sword, and waited.

_"The power of the guardian. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction."_ The voice once again announced his presence. _"Do you give up this power?"_

Even though he was still very confused, Edd's affirmation was much clearer this time around.

_"You chose the power of the mystic. You gave up the power of the guardian. Is this the form you choose?"_

Edd blinked. "…yes."

Suddenly, the pedestals that contained the weapons began to collapse into the ground, this time, making cracks in the stained glass. Edd jumped back as the sword vanished from his grasp, and glanced in fear as the cracks in the glass began to approach his position, and the pedestals fell through.

The platform shattered, and the boy screamed as he fell into the darkness.

* * *

Rolf's expression had not changed in the course of finding what was going on. They had him surrounded; these…things. He gazed around carefully, apparently trying to analyze his enemies. The dark creatures stared at each other with yellow eyes, puzzled there was no reaction.

Finally, the foreign boy crossed his arms and began speaking. "You remind Rolf of the mating rituals of the black sea-ants." He muttered. "Very irritating, yes?"

The shadow beasts seemed to stare dumbfounded at Rolf for a moment, and finally, one of them did something that could only be described as a 'leap.'

Rolf waited. The beast was now a mere few inches from his face. Just as the worst was about to happen, the creature hit the dirt below, Rolf's large foot in its 'face.' "So, puny shadows try to attack Rolf." He squinted his eyes. "Rolf has survived many a fish duel in the past, and you are nothing."

He smiled, knowing that he could somehow physically attack these shadows now. He had been acting on a bluff – and it worked. It was risky, but he went with it. "Now, Rolf will defeat you like puny-Ed-boy many moons ago, yes?"

The shadows glanced at each other, and lunged.

* * *

The dark figure could only watch. A number of the residents had already been subdued for capture – including a rather loudmouthed one he'd slapped to knock him out. There were four unaccounted for, according to his information.

'_Double-D, Ed, Ralph or Rolf or whatever, and…' _he counted off in his head. He glanced forward, noticing his 'helpers' were being tossed aside one by one. Raising an eyebrow, he watched this spectacle as the figure came closer to the center of the cul-de-sac. _'…Kevin.'_

The figure inched forward, focusing the darkness he had in him. The beings surrounding Kevin immediately froze, and backed off. Kevin did not seem surprised in the least – just annoyed.

The figure clapped its gloved hands. "Nice show." He muttered. His voice was dark; almost brooding. His red eyes stared at Kevin with certainty. "You'll make a fine-"

"Shut it." Kevin cut him off. "This wasn't part of the deal."

At this point, several of the trapped kids nearby were listening intently to the conversation. The loudmouth was still knocked out.

The unknown figure gave a shrug. "General's orders. The world is to be purged." Noticing Kevin's expression of surprise and anger, he continued. "Now, now, don't do anything rash. Think about this one." He turned to the short Ed that lay on the ground behind him. "Your source of irritation lay near me, knocked out and at my mercy. The rest of this stupid neighborhood is in my grasp, and unable to do anything lest the neoshadows reap them."

Kevin's eyes drifted to the kids – they were all accounted for…except…

"Why do you think I was able to do this?" he asked rhetorically. He moved his right arm into the iridescent light of the moon – a symbol was etched onto it; the same symbol that was on Kevin's, the dark heart. "Darkness is the heart's true essence, Kevin. You can have anything you want…and more."

The jock's eyes met Nazz's, who was speechless and staring at him with pleading eyes. Kevin turned back to the figure. "…They go unharmed." He commanded. "…I'll handle the dorks."

A dark grin formed on the figure's face.

* * *

When he next opened his eyes, he expected nothing. However, it was completely opposite of that, as he saw another stained glass platform hurtling towards him – no, _he_ was hurtling towards _it_ – and he closed his eyes, screaming his head off.

It was only until his feet touched solid ground that he opened his eyes once more and became silent. "Wh-what? I swear I was just…"

"…_Double-D."_

The boy's eyes widened as he turned to where the voice originated from. It was different from before – younger – but obviously wasn't of this plane from how ethereal it sounded. Edd glanced around, but saw no one…

"_That's your name, right? I'm sorta new to this."_

Edd stared to the skies, raising an eyebrow. "Um…who are you, and why is something scientifically impossible such as this currently happening?"

The new voice seemed to snicker. _"You'll begin to question science in awhile, Double-D."_ there was a slight pause. _"Look in front of you."_

Puzzled, Edd glanced to where he was staring before, and yelped at the person who was now a few feet from where he was standing, who wasn't there a few seconds ago. It was a teenager, appearing to be only about a year old than him, in white, baggy clothes – a shirt, jacket, and shorts. Several black designs were on them, and his face was shrouded by a hood. _"I guess you're wondering why you're here."_

"That…would be putting it lightly."

"_You'll find out soon enough. Here."_ The figure held out one of its gloved hands. Edd stared in wonder as light seemed to emanate from this newcomer…and it grew…he gulped as the blinding light seemed to overcome his own self.

"What in blazes are you doing?!" Edd yelped, trying to shield the light from his eyes. Then, almost as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. Edd opened his eyes, and found the figure was no longer there. He stared for a few seconds before noticing he was now holding something in his right hand. He stared at it, puzzled. It looked like a giant key, with a keychain attached to its 'hilt,' which was golden. The 'body' was a gleaming silver. He found himself holding it like some sort of sword…

"_Keyblade…"_ The sockhead glanced upwards – this wasn't the voice of the teenager, it was the one from before. _"Keyblade."_ It repeated.

"…key…blade?" Edd echoed. The word 'blade' turned him off. He hated fighting…he was much more in tune with studying and bookwork…something he had tried to pass onto Eddy so he would excel in more than just every other scam he dreamed up…but it didn't exactly work that well. Why did he even have this? Who was that person? Where was he? What in the _world_ was going on?!

"_There will be times you will have to fight."_

"F-fight?!"

Before Edd could protest to the voice from nowhere, the stained glass – which still portrayed the dark Kevin, though there seemed to be a reddish liquid near his hands now – seemed to move. Or rather, the dark lines moved. Darkness started to swarm around Edd on the glass, flat blotches that had no physical form – until they emerged, however. _'These…these are the creatures that had attacked me!'_

Edd was only half-right – these creatures were considerably smaller than the being that attacked him, but what they lacked in size and strength they must have made up for in numbers, because there was a lot of them, all intent on attacking the confused and petrified cul-de-sac boy.

Sweating profusely, he began to scream his mouth off. "OhwhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?!" he held his hat in fear, the keyblade still in his hands.

The shadows began closing in, their bodies twitching every so often. Their golden eyes stared, as if expecting something…perhaps resistance?

"_Attack it!"_ It was the voice of the teenager now.

Hyperventilating, he managed to say, "B-b-b-b-but I've never fought before! I have no prior fighting experience, and I know I can barely lift a-"

"_You chose the staff, right? You don't need to."_ The voice continued. _"Point, and say 'fire.'"_

Edd blinked, sweating. He shakily held up the keyblade, aiming towards one of the shadows. "Um…uh..f…f-**FIRE!**"

The boy recoiled when a large blast of flames erupted from the tip of the keyblade, and collided with the shadow, vaporizing the creature into molecules. The other shadows jumped back, chattering, while Edd stood, jaw dropped.

"_Just so you know, that isn't going to work all the time."_ The voice muttered. _"You're gonna have to attack something with that blade sooner or later. Trust me."_

Edd looked to the skies. "What is going on?! Who are you?!" he yelled. There was no answer – or, there might have been, but the boy didn't hear, as the shadows had lunged at him. "OH DEAR!"

In a last ditch effort, Edd held his keyblade up, and a few shadows speared themselves on it, immediately ridding the world – or wherever this was – of the creatures. The boy watched, wide-eyed. "Oh…my."

The rest of the shadows were backing away slowly, and one had a visible sweatdrop on its forehead. Edd saw this, and felt slightly relieved…

…this was, of course, before something else took their places.

The small creatures were batted away by long, white…tendrils? The new creatures – a colorless white – that had appeared looked like anorexic humans without hands or feet, and twitched constantly. Their heads were like pouches, opened up by zippers, and what looked like a ball of darkness in their 'mouths.'

Puzzled, Edd stared for a long while, pondering if they were friend, or foe. After all, they had just defeated his 'enemies.' He was given his answer when one of the white creatures turned to face him, and lunged at him with a screech. With a yelp, he aimed his keyblade forward. "F-**FIRE!**"

The flames smashed into the creature's head, sending it flying into the other two. The creatures tumbled a bit before falling off the edge. Edd stood, breathing heavily, before staring into the heavens. "What have I gotten myself into…?"

He took one last look at the platform in front of him to see the teenager from before walking towards him, and he blacked out.

* * *

It was a dream. Had to be. He would open his eyes, and everything would be normal – he'd be back in his bed, and he'd pass it off as being nervous and going back to sleep.

Opening his eyes, Edd whimpered when he found himself on the floor of his living room, in front of the door, which was slightly burned through. He sat up groggily, holding his head with his free hand.

The other, to Edd's surprise, was holding the keyblade. With a yelp, he threw it across the room, crashing into a vase. "Oh, fudge." He muttered, noting the damage. Before he could inspect it, the keyblade flashed, disappeared, and reappeared in Edd's hands. "Wha?!" he exclaimed, taking a step back. _'What is going ON?!'_ he thought, feeling the sweat forming on his forehead.

Then, he remembered what had happened before he had been attacked. "Eddy!" he exclaimed, instantly forgetting about the broken vase, and ran out the hole in the front door, keyblade in hand.

He didn't get very far, however, when he froze and began staring upwards. In the place of the night sky, was a large, glowing, and pulsing orb of some sort. It didn't seem to be doing much, but the fact it was there still made his fear grow. This was a power beyond all rational thought and being – it shouldn't even exist!

Something moved in the corner of his eye. Without moving, but still petrified, he tightened his grip on the keyblade.

* * *

Kevin stared into the pulsating orb with disgust – this wasn't how it was supposed to be. He just wanted the Eds gone and for Nazz and him to be alone…

…damn that rat bastard of a general.

"Angry?" the general in question had returned without a sound – he'd apparently gone to 'report.' When he didn't get a response, the spiky-quilled unknown could only laugh. "Good. Turn it into the fuel for your vengeance."

"I don't need your advice." Kevin replied through the bangs of his orange hair. "I told you I'd take care of them."

The figure looked like he was about to respond, until something caught their attention.

"**FIRE!**"

Kevin whirled towards the direction of the voice just in time to see the yard in front of Double-D's house explode in uncontrollable flames. "What the-?!" he yelled. At this point, Eddy had regained consciousness, and had seen it as well, but didn't say anything.

The cloaked figure narrowed his eyes. "…Were we too late?" The cul-de-sac boy turned and shot him a questioning glance. The unknown glared back at him. "We might have a challenge now. The keyblade has been awakened."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Uh…did you just say…key…_blade_?" he asked incredulously. The figure nodded, and Kevin rolled his eyes. "What the hell did I get myself into?"

* * *

As the shadow creature fell to the ground, charred from its claws to its antennae, Edd had come to a revolutionary conclusion – the shadow things are _bad_. Light them on fire.

He might have hated violence, but this was his home…and as physically inept as he was, he'd at least try and protect his friends and family.

...he disregarded the word 'family' in his afterthought...

It took him a few seconds, but he soon realized he'd made fire in a dark environment. And with an explosion that large, someone was bound to have seen it. Edd gulped, and dashed behind the closest cover he could find – a bush.

He waited. Whether it be shadow creatures, a survivor, or someone – or something – else, they wouldn't see him unless he wanted them to.

It didn't take long before there was movement coming from his left. As he looked, a tall figure emerged from some bushes, holding something large, and colorless – a shadow? The figure seemed to examine it with a curious look on his face before letting it slam onto the ground.

Edd took a glance at the shadow's head – its eyes weren't 'activated,' per say – all there was, were hollowed sockets. It was definitely dead.

"This reminds me of the bloodsucking turtle monkeys of Deep Space Fifty!" the figure announced. Edd raised an eyebrow.

"Ed?" he called, emerging from the bush.

The tall Ed perked up as his eyes caught his friend. "DOUBLE-D!" he screamed, and immediately tacked him to the ground – hard.

"E-Ed…" the sockhead muttered, struggling under Ed's weight. "C-Can you please get off of me?"

"Whoops. Sorry." Ed said, grinning sheepishly. He stood, letting Edd stand and dust himself off. During all of this, Ed took notice of the giant keyblade in his friend's hands. "Wooooah." He droned, as if in a trance all of a sudden. "Double-D! Where did you get that? It looks so cool!"

"It's…a giant key, Ed."

"Sure am!"

With a sigh, Edd turned to eye the surroundings. Ed had apparently been the only one to notice the explosion – if he'd even noticed at all, considering Ed had simply come out of the bushes with one of the shadows. This most likely meant no one was in the center of the cul-de-sac…

"Ed. We are in grave danger." He muttered, trying to inform his friend of the situation…but the taller boy seemed to already be ahead of him, as he nodded knowingly. It was then Edd saw what was hanging from Ed's belt – a long, steel pipe. "Ed…did you fight with that?"

"Sure did, Double-D." he said. He took it in hand. "I keep it in case of hamburglars!"

Despite his reasoning, Edd was glad Ed had a way of defending himself. "We are going to cut through the center…Eddy could probably be in more danger than us right now."

Ed's expression suddenly turned grim. "Eddy…is in danger?" he muttered. He gripped the pipe and gave his friend a serious look – it was somewhat comical, however, as Ed was never one to make serious faces much. It was obvious, though, that right now, Ed knew this was no time to be goofing around.

The two boys dashed forward, towards the center. It was extremely dark, despite the strange red light emanating from the dark orb in the night sky.

Not a soul was in sight, and Edd was starting to get even more worried. Not even the shadows had made a move to stop them…

…he soon saw why. As he tried to leave the open area in the center, his form collided with something. The sockhead fell over, rubbing his head, as Ed came to a stop beside him. "What in the world…?" he muttered, standing. Unless his eyesight was suddenly failing him, there was no wall there…he reached out his hand, and to his surprise, felt a solid surface.

"It's…some kind of forcefield!" he exclaimed.

"Close."

Edd and Ed turned their heads at the sound of the voice – it was one they knew. As the figure came into view, Kevin tipped the edge of his red hat in annoyance, the other hand in the pocket of his jacket. "It's actually an invisible wall formed by pure darkness. I would've thought a dweeb like you would have figured that out."

Ed smiled, totally disregarding Kevin's statement. "Hi Kevin!" he yelled, and was about to run towards him, when Edd's hand gripped his jacket, signaling for him to stop.

"Ed, wait." He said. His eyes narrowed, examining Kevin's figure. Something was wrong…not only did Kevin know about something apparently made of darkness, but he seemed to exert an uneasy aura…

Kevin seemed to notice the change in Edd's demeanor, and grinned. "So, Double-Dork…you noticed." He held out his right arm, and revealed the dark heart Edd had seen hours before. "I've been marked. The darkness has its hold now."

Edd's eyes widened as several beings – beings that looked like the shadows, but more humanoid, like the one that had attacked him before he had his strange dream – rose from the ground, surrounding all three of them. "K-Kevin…you are…in their control?"

With a solemn smile, Kevin closed his eyes. "Under their control?" he stated quizzically. "I'm leading them."

* * *

**Yes indeed. Kevin is apparently "evil." Eddy will make a reappearance in the next chapter (which will be more action-oriented than the last two). So, uh, yeah. Enjoy.**

**- Zero**


	3. Blackened Creek

**DISLCLAIMER: First chapter, plus an added (C) to SEGA for a certain character in this chapter. Hey, I did say there'd be many crossovers.**

**Once again, minor swearing in this chapter. Also, chapter edited cuz I found out a certain aspect of it irked me when I read through it again.  
**

THREE

Blackened Creek

Eddy's fearful eyes could only stare in stunned silence at the scene before him. Edd and Ed had not noticed the others, him included, due to some sort of spell the mysterious cloaked figure had cast – it darkened the area around them. He watched as Kevin approached his friends, his new, strange power the figure had given him exploding off his person like a new drug to an unsuspecting seventh grader.

It was when Kevin made his speech that finally made Eddy snap. His face was flushed with red anger, wanting to do something –anything – to get free and bash Kevin's face in. _He_ was doing this to their home – destroying it, attacking us…

"You've got quite a lot of anger for a little man."

Eddy froze. He turned his head, and almost jumped when he saw the figure from before sitting on what looked like a black rock. Apparently, the power of darkness can also form things to sit on.

He could see the figure clearer now – he definitely wasn't human, to say the least. He was slightly shorter than Eddy – surprising to say the least – and his 'hair' seemed to stretch back, spike down, then spike up in a jagged format – like quills more than hair, really. His eyes were serious – dark – and the red irises seemed to glow in the dark. Said eyes seemed to be set above some sort of muzzle, and two ears protruded from his head.

His body was shrouded in a cloak, but Eddy could make out his form was tiny and thin, and his feet were incased with shoes of an alien design. The shortest Ed scoffed. "What do you know?"

The creature gave a smirk. "Big attitude, too…especially considering your life's on the line."

"You won't do anything to me." Eddy stated matter-of-factly. "You made a deal with that asshole over there." He cursed, narrowing his eyes.

"Very true." The dark figure replied. "However, deals can be broken…I suggest you keep your mouth shut and enjoy the end…"

Eddy grunted. "Just who are you?"

The creature closed his eyes and gave a 'hmph.' "They call me Shadow."

"Fitting."

* * *

"_Leading_ them?!" Edd exclaimed, taken aback. His eyes were wide, and his features were, to say the least, fearful. He almost dropped his keyblade when he heard that statement.

Ed was in a similar state, strangely enough. Although he and Kevin were never on the best of terms due to his lower IQ, he was genuinely shocked that Kevin…was _against_ them.

"What are you talking about?! Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" Edd screamed, still shocked, and now incredibly nervous – the large shadows could attack at any time…on Kevin's order…

Kevin laughed. "Yeah. Unfortunately, I do." He held out his arm with the dark heart on it, and a black aura encased it, slowly ebbing away and forming…something…in his hands. The darkness was so thick, it was impossible to see exactly what it was…at least until the darkness faded.

What was now in Kevin's hands was an elegant black longsword, its dark blade somehow shining in the moonless environment. Smirking, his blue eyes flashed red, and the ground beneath him suddenly shuddered with dark energy. "Well, Double-D, I hope you had some fun in your life." He pointed the dark blade at him. "Neoshadows, get him."

The creatures lunged at the two Eds without hesitation. Ed gripped his pipe tightly, and swung hard at one of the humanoid shadows – 'neoshadows,' according to Kevin. The creature hung in mid-lunge as it seemed to morph away from the direction of the pipe, avoiding it entirely. It landed a few feet from its intended destination, and another neoshadow tackled Ed to the ground.

Ed held the keyblade up defensively as three neoshadows smashed their clawed hands on it, effectively deflecting the attack. It only delayed the inevitable, however, when a fourth neoshadow, the one Ed attempted to smash, pounced on the sockhead from behind.

The neoshadow on Ed's person turned its head to see the commotion. Taking advantage of this, Ed regained control of his arms, and pushed the creature off of him. When trying to get up, its head collided with the blunt object in Ed's hands with full force. "Take that mutant space monster from the planet Nebuloid!" he screamed, and then proceeded to smack the neoshadow on Edd's back off of him.

Edd slowly got up, shaking in fear. There was no way he'd survive this…he could barely even fight! His eyes caught sight of more of the black creatures moving towards him…and he could've sworn one melted into the ground. Swallowing his doubts, Edd pointed the keyblade at the two oncoming neoshadows, and yelled, "**FIRE!**"

The resulting fireball smashed into the first neoshadow's abdomen, dissolving it from the inside out. The second neoshadow recoiled slightly, but resumed his dash towards the Eds. Its life was ended when Ed grabbed its head and threw it a good five feet into the invisible barrier, crushing its skull…or whatever was there in the place of one. It seemed to explode afterwards, leaving nothing but purple smoke.

"Three down…" Edd counted, and glanced around. Almost immediately, another one of the ebony nightmares lunged for him, and, while closing his eyes, Edd swung the keyblade as hard as he could. Granted, he wasn't the strongest of the cul-de-sac, but the resulting blow seemed to effectively destroy the neoshadow nonetheless.

When he opened his eyes, there was nothing to tackle him or drive him painfully into the cement…but wait…weren't there five of them?

"DOUBLE-D! LOOK OUT!"

Edd didn't have the time to register the voice's origins, because he ducked immediately before a neoshadow tore his head off. The creature seemed to growl and turned his attention to Edd once more, its claws clacking against each other.

The sockhead could only stare into the lifeless yellow eyes as he aimed the keyblade once more. His breathing was slightly heavy – this was more exercise than he'd planned for the day…

"F-**FIRE!**"

Unfortunately, the neoshadow saw it coming, and vanished into the shadows of the ground. "Oh dear…" Edd muttered, staring around frantically. Ed was trying his hardest to look as well, as it seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth…

It wasn't until Edd hit the ground as a result of another attack that Ed bolted into action, smashing the steel pipe on the head of the last neoshadow. "Double-D! Are you okay?!" he yelled, helping his friend up.

Edd paused for a moment, observing a small cut on his arm. "…Y-yes, Ed, I am well."

Footsteps alerted both of them to Kevin's presence. The jock held his longsword firmly at his side, his now-red eyes glaring at them. "And here I figured you two would fall upon the first attack. I need to give you more credit." He muttered. "But it's over. I can't let you get in my way. I'll finally be rid of you dorks, and I'll live in peace."

"Kevin, think about what you're doing!" Edd screamed. "You're destroying your home! Threatening your friends! This isn't right!"

Kevin frowned. "Then make me see this 'light' you're talking about. Let me see it, and maybe I'll reconsider, double-dork." He held his longsword in front of him in an offensive stance. "What're you waiting for?"

He lunged for the Eds.

Ed jumped forward, yelling a battle cry loud enough to shatter all the windows in the neighborhood. Which, coincidentally, it did. The tall boy's pipe clashed with Kevin's ebony blade, and the two jumped back, only for the two to clash weapons once more. "Get outta the way, ya big lummox!" Kevin yelled, attempting another slash, which was blocked by Ed.

"I don't think so, galactic traitor to the space marines!" Ed replied, giving another swing to Kevin's abdomen, cut off by Kevin's blade. It was obvious one was trying to kill, and the other was only trying to render the other unconscious.

The exchange of weapons continued for some time, with Edd standing back in shock, seemingly unable to move. _'Why can't I do anything? I should be in there helping…but I can't move…'_ he gulped. _'…is the shock of someone like him giving us all to the darkness too much…?'_

However, Edd snapped back into reality as Kevin backed off, his free arm surging with blue energy. "Fine! Take this, you stupid idiot!" With a flick if his hand, he yelled out what appeared to be a spell name. Fortunately, Edd was quick on the drawn, and pulled his own trump card.

"**BLIZZARD!**" came Kevin's voice.

"**FIRE!**" Edd interjected.

Kevin stared in surprise as the icy glaciers, heading straight for Ed, were incinerated by balls of fire. "Damn it!" he cursed, glaring at his opponents. It was two against one now…

Edd joined his friend at the frontlines. "My apologies for not joining in sooner."

"In your sock, Double-D!" Ed retorted as he stared down Kevin.

There was no movement for a moment. All three combatants neither dared to move or speak. Kevin didn't want to risk a fire spell being lobbed at his face, and Edd didn't want to lob said fireball. Ed was simply waiting.

Finally, someone moved. That someone tackled Kevin out of nowhere, and drove him face-first into the cement, making the traitor drop his blade. Edd and Ed looked on as Eddy, black-blue hair and all, was in an all-out brawl with his rival – now bitter enemy.

"Where the _hell_ did you come from!?" Kevin managed to ask, avoiding an attack from the short Ed.

Eddy hastily dodged Kevin's fist, and retaliated by tackling him to the ground. "Your friend isn't exactly the most attentive person around!" he remarked.

Growling, Kevin shoved Eddy off of him. The boy hit the ground a few feet ahead of him, rolled a few inches, before stopping, and getting up as fast as his legs would allow.

Now there were four. Three against one. Once again, none of them moved. Kevin and Eddy were breathing hard, and the other two Eds were waiting for something to happen. Edd's eyes were on Kevin's dropped blade – if he went for it, he'd meet a fireball.

There was a bitter silence, before a one-man applause broke it. The four turned their attention to the darkness beyond their position, which suddenly began to fade away, to reveal a clapping pseudo-humanoid figure, with the rest of Peach Creek tied up behind him, with the curious exception of Rolf.

"Nice display." Shadow mocked, ceasing his clapping. Most of his body was still shrouded in his cloak, but the four combatants could easily make out the creature – apparently a humanoid hedgehog – that was named Shadow before them, including his jet-black fur and red stripes. "An excellent fit for the wielder of the keyblade and his escorts."

Edd glanced at his keyblade for a moment, before returning his gaze to Shadow.

The hedgehog strode forward, keeping his blood-red eyes focused on Edd. When he finally stopped walking, he was only a few inches from Kevin, who didn't seem to mind, and straightened up. "Kevin, you need to learn how to use your power more. That display was pathetic."

Even Ed expected Kevin to go ballistic at this comment, but to all three of the Eds' surprise, he simply glared angrily. There was no attempt at a fight, which was out of character for him, especially considering what had just transpired.

Shadow moved forward, towards Kevin's longsword. Upon seeing this, Edd began to watch intently…and as Shadow kneeled down to pick it up, he launched another fireball.

The hedgehog, who had picked up the blade, simply outstretched his right hand, and the fireball exploded just in front of the hand, which was covered in what looked like gray metallic bracers. Edd's jaw dropped – did he just block fire? Without even touching it?!

Shadow shook his head. "A meaningless effort." He brushed his cloak away from his body, essentially making it a cape of sorts, and revealed the entirety of his form. As expected, the rest of his body was covered in black fur with red stripes. Both of his arms were covered in the gray metallic bracers, and so were his legs and feet. The shoe parts were definitely an alien design, arched in several places, and Edd could barely make out what looked like small jets underneath them. "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

Edd took note of a symbol on Shadow's arm before returning to his blood-red eyes – the same dark heart that was on Kevin's arm. Shadow was now staring at Edd with a small bit of annoyance in his eyes as he tossed Kevin's longsword back towards him. Edd gulped – something was definitely not right about this being. "…Who are you? Why…are you doing this?"

Shadow didn't offer any emotion along with his explanation. "I am Shadow the Hedgehog, fourth general in command of the Heartless." With that, some sort of black liquid emerged from Shadow's bracers, through three holes near the wrist. Tubes that encircled the bracers starting pulsing – Shadow was definitely getting ready for something. "…and we desire power. Nothing more. Nothing less. We wish to rule over all, and destroy pathetic worlds like yours."

Edd cocked his head to the side. General? Heartless? Worlds? "What are you talking about?" he finally asked.

Sighing, Shadow watched as the darkness began to form a weapon of his own – a large, almost scary type of scythe. Its handle was twisted in several areas, with glowing purple orbs inside certain holes in the overall design. The blade itself was pure black, much like Kevin's longsword, and appeared to be obscenely sharp, much to Edd's dismay.

"You understand so little." He muttered. He recited this like he would a poem, similar to his speech on meaningless efforts a few minutes before. He swung his scythe sharply, creating a sound that chilled the three Eds to the bone.

Kevin's glare intensified. "We had a deal, Shadow." He announced, his mouth laced with venom.

"And you failed to carry your part of the deal out to its fullest." The hedgehog replied, angling his scythe so the blade was close to his face now. "You obviously need more training. I'll handle this."

"You…!"

That was all Kevin could say before…something…appeared behind him. It looked like a vortex, but the only color that could be seen was black…it was like a literal portal to the darkness these two seemed to preach about. Something must've grabbed Kevin, because he was pulled in sharply, with nothing escaping his lips as it happened. The vortex compacted, and vanished into thin air.

Watching this, Edd began to sweat profusely again. He was afraid, confused, and at the moment, spaced. His grip on the keyblade was weakening, just like his resolve. His…acquaintance, turned enemy, had just been swallowed up by some…dark…vortex…possibly never to be seen again…and now he, and the rest of Peach Creek were at the mercy of a four foot tall hedgehog with a giant, creepy scythe.

"Oh, not good." Was the only thing he managed to utter.

* * *

**Indeed. Next chapter should be...interesting, eh?**

** - Zero  
**


End file.
